Privacy Policy

1. General Policy

The policy of Media Matters for America™ and the Media Matters Action Network™ is to respect and protect the privacy of our users. To fulfill this policy, Media Matters for America and the Media Matters Action Network agree to exercise reasonable precautions to maintain the confidentiality of information provided by you in connection with accessing and using this website (the "Site"). Media Matters for America and the Media Matters Action Network also agree to post prominently and in plain language its specific privacy policies. Media Matters for America and the Media Matters Action Network do not collect personal information about individuals except when specifically and knowingly provided by such individuals. Media Matters for America and the Media Matters Action Network will sometimes make available personal information about our users to third parties in support of our efforts to comprehensively monitor, analyze, and correct conservative misinformation in the U.S. media. However, neither Media Matters for America nor the Media Matters Action Network will allows others to use personal information about our users to send any commercial message.

2. Use of Information

Media Matters for America and the Media Matters Action Network use the Site to respond to requests for information and for fundraising. You may be asked to provide personal information such as name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number. This information may be used by Media Matters for America or the Media Matters Action Network to contact you in regard to your specific request or activity, and we may share this information with third-party vendors as necessary to fulfill that request or conduct that activity. Such vendors are contractually prohibited from using or sharing your personal data for any other purpose. Media Matters for America or the Media Matters Action Network may also sell, rent, trade, or otherwise make your personal information available to others in support of our efforts to comprehensively monitor, analyze, and correct conservative misinformation in the U.S. media. However, neither Media Matters for America nor the Media Matters Action Network will make your personal information available to any individual or organization to contact you for any commercial purpose. In addition to your personal information, Media Matters for America and the Media Matters Action Network may also collect standard Web server traffic pattern information generated by your use of the Site. General traffic, site usage, and length of stay information may be collected and stored in log files. This type of information is shared externally only on an aggregated basis.

3. Additional Disclosure to Protect People or Property or As Required by Law

In addition to the disclosures otherwise permitted by this privacy policy, Media Matters for America or the Media Matters Action Network may disclose personal information in special cases: (1) when we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact, or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference with (either intentionally or unintentionally) the rights or property of Media Matters for America, the Media Matters Action Network or an unrelated third party; (2) when we believe in good faith that the law requires it; (3) to any third party who acquires Media Matters for America or the Media Matters Action Network; and (4) in situations involving threats to the physical safety of any person.

4. Cookies

Visitors should be aware that non-personal information and data may be automatically collected on the Site through the use of "cookies." Cookies are small text files (no larger than 4k) stored as text on a computer hard drive. Web sites can use cookies to recognize repeat visitors, facilitate the visitor's ongoing access to and use of the site, and allow a site to track usage behavior and compile aggregate data that will allow content improvements. Cookies are not programs, and they perform no actions on any visitor's computer. The use of cookies is common in the Internet industry, and many major web sites use them to provide useful features to their customers. Generally, cookies work by assigning a unique number to the visitor that has no meaning outside the assigning site. Media Matters for America and the Media Matters Action Network use cookie technology only to obtain non-personal information from its online visitors in order to improve visitors' online experience and facilitate their visit within our site.

5. Disabling Cookies

If a visitor does not want information collected through the use of cookies, there is a simple procedure in most browsers that allows the visitor to deny or accept the cookie feature. You can choose to prevent Media Matters for America and the Media Matters Action Network from establishing a unique user-ID. Media Matters for America and the Media Matters Action Network recommend that you visit any of the commonly available Cookie FAQs on the Internet to learn more about this.

6. Links

This Site contains links to websites maintained by other individuals and organizations. Neither Media Matters for America nor the Media Matters Action Network is responsible for the privacy practices or the content on any of these other web sites, including any sites that may indicate a special relationship or "partnership" with Media Matters for America or the Media Matters Action Network. In connection with such links, neither Media Matters for America nor the Media Matters Action Network disclose unique identifiers to those responsible for the linked sites, but the operators of those sites may be among the individuals or organizations to which we make information available as permitted by these privacy policies. Note also that the linked sites may collect personal information from you when you link to their site and that this collecting of information is not subject to the control of Media Matters for America or the Media Matters Action Network. To ensure protection of your privacy, always review the privacy policies of the sites you visit by linking from this Site.

7. Our Commitment to Children's Privacy

Protecting the privacy of the very young is especially important. We never collect or maintain information at the Site from persons we know to be under age 13, and no part of our Site is designed to attract anyone under age 13. Please do not communicate with or contact us if you are under age 13.

8. How You Can Review or Correct Your Personal Information

You can contact both Media Matters for America and the Media Matters Action Network by email at mm-tips@mediamatters.org to inquire if we are keeping personal information about you. If we do have personal information about you, we will provide you with a readable copy of such personal information at no charge. Factual errors in your personal information, including out-of-date information, can be corrected by sending an email to mm-tips@mediamatters.org with a request for such a change that credibly shows our error.

9. How You Can Limit Use of Your Personal Information

You may always opt out of receiving communications from us or allowing us to share your personal information with others. To remove any personal information from our database, to prevent future communications from Media Matters for America or the Media Matters Action Network, or to forbid us from sharing your personal information with others, send an e-mail to mm-tips@mediamatters.org with the word "remove" in the subject line.

10. Security Statement

In an effort to safeguard your personal information, Media Matters for America and the Media Matters Action Network use encryption to protect credit cards, online order forms and other confidential information. Nevertheless, despite our best efforts, no transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be totally secure.

11. Effect of Future Changes to this Privacy Policy

Media Matters for America and the Media Matters Action Network reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time. However, we will not apply any new policies to any of your personal data collected under an old policy without contacting you at the email address you provide and giving you the opportunity to opt out of any use of your data under the changed policy.

Last Updated: February 17, 2005